Sohrabuddin encounter: 'UPA wanted to topple govt'

Continuing his tirade against the CBI investigation into Sohrabuddin Sheikh encounter case as UPA’s attempt to topple his government when he was the chief minister of Gujarat, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday alleged that for ten years people sitting in Delhi tried to "damage the interest of Gujarat and acted as if the state is not in India."

Speaking at an election rally in Himmatnagar, about 80 km from Ahmedabad, that falls under Sabarkantha Lok Sabha constituency, Modi said: "Our police officers and even Amitbhai Shah, were thrown behind bars. They (UPA) employed all means to break the Gujarat government." Modi was referring to CBI investigation into the Sohrabuddin Sheikh encounter case in which more than two dozen police officers were arrested.

In 2010, then-Minister of State for Home Amit Shah, currently national president of BJP, was arrested and put behind bars. Shah was released on bail and was barred from entering Gujarat for nearly two years. The Supreme Court, while transferring the trial of the case to Mumbai, allowed him to come to Gujarat when the state was gearing up for the assembly polls in 2012. In December 2014, he was given clean chit by the a special court in Mumbai. Last year, the court acquitted all the accused.

In the rally, Modi asked the crowd if the Congress should be given another chance to destroy Gujarat. Referring to Gandhi family, Modi said that "they are angry as they are out on bail. They are thinking that they were ruling this country for four generations and this Gujju, this chaiwala forced them to go to the court for bail."

He reiterated his election promise that if he is voted to power again he will ensure they are behind the bars. "From 2014 to 2019, I brought them to the doorstep of jail and if you give me another five years, they will go inside. But if they come to power again, their first target will be Gujarat,” Modi told the mega gathering amid the chants of “Modi…Modi."

Modi added that election is a contest between nationalist forces who will rule the country or "those who want to help the "tukde tukde gang" by scrapping sedition law".

Modi is holding rallies at key constituencies in Gujarat where BJP is apprehensive about the victory. Sabarkantha district borders with Patan and Banaskantha Lok Sabha seats in north Gujarat, where BJP is facing trouble. Similarly, Modi has been visiting Saurashtra region too, where Congress candidates are said to be posing a great threat to BJP’s winning chance.